Absorbent articles for personal hygiene, such as disposable diapers for infants, training pants for toddlers, adult incontinence undergarments, and/or sanitary napkins are designed to absorb and contain bodily exudates, in particular large quantities of urine, runny BM, and/or menses (together the “fluids”). These absorbent articles may comprise several layers providing different functions, for example, a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core disposed between the topsheet and the backsheet, among other layers, if desired.
Topsheets comprising a three-dimensional substrate have been provided in order to further reduce skin/fluid contact and to enhance comfort.
The three-dimensional substrate has a plane and comprises a plurality of projections extending outwardly from the plane of the three-dimensional substrate. The projections are responsible in part for providing the above benefits in the absorbent article due to their three-dimensional characteristics.
Typical liquid permeable substrates are stored and provided via a conventional planar roll during the converting manufacturing process to make the absorbent article. Generally, the substrate is spirally wound around a core to form a plurality of overlaying layers in the planar roll. However, due to the pressure exerted on the overlaying layers in the planar roll, the projections of a three-dimensional substrate may not be preserved, resulting in fully or partially collapsed projections.
Also, when a conventional planar roll, comprising the three-dimensional substrate, is unwound to make the absorbent article, the run time is relatively low. This is due to the lofty nature of the projections of the three-dimensional substrate.
Hence, there is a need to provide a system that will preserve the three-dimensional characteristics of the plurality of projections of the three-dimensional substrate during the winding and storing of the three-dimensional substrate, and also enabling relatively high run times at absorbent article manufacturing lines.